The Downfall of Us All
by DragonLady9807
Summary: It's only in times of true crisis that we become the people we truly are. Some are meant to survive while others will fall. We follow Eve, Evelyn, and her college roommate, Lexi as they navigate their way through this new, terrifying world. Along the way they meet people who give them a reason to fight, a reason to live. Daryl/ OC, Rated M for language and suggestive themes.
1. Chapter 1 - Call of the Zombie

_**Authors note:**_ _I do no own the Walking Dead universe, that belong to the brilliant writers and directors of the show and comic books. The only things I own are my OC's, Lexi and Evelyn._

 _As for the **Rating** , I gave it an **M** for language and future scenes with Daryl, and well just in case too._

 _Also, I have posted a story up before with the same name, however, my laptop had a hard drive malfunction and all my files were lost so I was forced to do a complete rewrite. I don't have a beta, yet, but I do spend an extra day looking over grammatical errors. If there is something off though, I apologize._

 _As always, comments and_ _constructive_ _criticism are always welcome and hope you like the story. I will probably be posing a chapter a week, but if there are enough people asking for them sooner I might be willing to work overtime to make that happen._ _ **;)**_

 _I will stop my rambling now, hope you enjoy!_

 _-DragonLady_

 _Updated 4-23-2016 If you have read my latest updates then you know I no longer have a laptop :( but I am going through every chapter and tweaking and/or adding some things. Maybe I'll even figure out how I can put out another chapter with only my iPhone...we'll see!_

* * *

" _ **There is nothing permanent except change."**_

 _ **-Heraclitus**_

 _ **Chapter 1 - Call of the Zombie**_

* * *

 _There's a moment, a single glorious, or disastrous moment, in which you realize that life has changed forevermore. After this moment you finally realize there's no going back to the way things used to be. From that moment on you grow and evolve to adapt to new situations, you find yourself changing and you can only hope it's for the better. At first I believed this moment came with puberty, then my high school graduation, then finally the end of the world as I knew it. Though it was true for a while, my moment of realization came after the end of civilization, after I had once again become accustomed to life, that's when I was hit with a moment of clarity so profound it almost knocked my on my backside._

 _Now all I can do is hope for the best as I stare down the barrel of my Smith and Wesson 1911TA E-Series and feel time slow as the body slowly makes it's way to the ground, eternally lifeless. The barrel still smokes while I turn to my left and fire once more, all thoughts clear from my mind as I do so. The recoil feels reassuringly familiar, unlike the outcome I was so used to; no, this time it's not a piece of paper the bullet goes through, this time there's actually a body on the other end. I push the thought from my mind once more, there's no time for doubts at this moment._

 _It's difficult to think that just a couple months ago I was bitching about my obnoxious,_ _misogynistic_ _boss and unforgiving professors to my best friend/ roommate over Sangria Saturdays and reruns of Buffy. Everything changed so fast that no one had time to react. Listening to the news reports became a nightly occurrence, but I couldn't bring myself to believe completely even though there was always a nagging sensation trying to tell me to pull my head out of my ass and get the hell out of dodge. One minute it was just a sickness going around, next it was locking yourself in your house and waiting for help that would never come. How I so wish help actually came._

* * *

*Beep*Beep*Beep* "Ugghhh…shut up." I slam down on my alarm clock, hoping to stop the indecent howling. After my palm makes contact with the table, however, it doesn't stop the beeping in my ear. _Maybe that's because I don't have an alarm clock…Wait, is that laughter?_

I peel open my eyes, waiting for them to adjust until I see my roommate standing over my bed with her phone in her hand, laughing her ass off. "For once I'm up before you." She finally turns the alarm on her phone off and plops on my bed. "SO, since we both have the day off and finals are FINALLY over, I was thinking coffee then shopping for some cute summer clothes." Her face lights up with the prospect of spending all day at the mall while I fight the urge to fake gag.

I try to rub the sleep out of my eyes, "Lexi, in all the time we've been friends when have I ever wanted to spend an entire day shopping?" I throw the sheets off me and make my way to our shared bathroom. "The coffee, though, I'm all for."

"Call it wishful thinking, well I know you'll never turn down coffee so I'll got get some while you get ready." She jumps up from my bed and prances out the door.

A few moments go by when I hear what I assume is her slamming the front door behind her, one of her more annoying habits. I go to our bathroom turn the shower on and quickly slip in. The water helps wake me up and soothe my sore muscles. Long nights of practice have taken their toll; my shoulders and arms are the sorest I've ever felt them before, but with the competition coming up I need to make sure I'm at my best. Not only will it get me one step closer to becoming the best, but the prize money is also appreciated; after all, college ain't cheap.

Once the water begins to run cold I jump out and quickly begin to dry, I pat down my long, unruly hair before French braiding it. As I do my hair I look at my reflection, amazed at how much I look like the picture I have of my mother when she was in college; the same soft features that make me look younger than my 21 years, long strawberry blonde hair, and the same clover green eyes. The only major differences between my mom and I was her taller, more athletic build that helped her become a track star through college; whereas, I am barely 5'5 and have always had a smaller, more lethal frame and my toned arms showcase my longstanding affection towards archery. Not too long ago I resented the fact I looked so much like her, but now I'm happy about it.

Once I finish my hair I begin making my way to my room once more and start dressing. I pull out my favorite straight leg jeans and put on a purple tank top with a loose white top over it then grab my favorite pair of boots and slip those on. Now awake and ready for coffee, I eagerly make my way out to the living room to wait the few minutes for Lexi to get back.

I turn on the TV, the channel already on the news. With the strange sickness going around I've been watching the news every morning, waiting for it to get dramatically worse or for it to be inexplicably be over; being the pessimist I am I'm sure it's not the latter. I get my wish when the nervous reporter continues talking about the spread into local cities across the U.S., she talks about reports of people dying after being bitten by an infected person. Only they don't stay dead, they become "reanimated" and attack and bite the people around them. She shows a clip taken by a camera phone where a police officer shoots one of them repeatedly, but the person keeps moving and eventually attacks the officer and bites into their face. Afterwards, the reporter continues discussing military intervention and the president declaring martial law and state of emergency. I'm so engrossed by what she's saying, that the sound of the front door slamming open then closed makes me jump in fear and look towards the entrance where Lexi just stormed through.

"Holy shit Lexi…are you ok?" Not only is she gasping and slouched on the floor, but there's blood on her shirt and it sounds like she's hyperventilating. I can tell she's too scared to talk so I walk slowly over to her. Trying to make sure she's ok, I place my hand reassuringly on her shoulder. Instantly she slaps my hand away and stands up, but upon seeing my face she breaks down and starts crying. I give her a few minutes to calm down before asking, "What the hell happened?"

"Everyone is attacking each other." She takes another deep breath, trying to steady herself. "I was waiting in line when this guy comes up and starts biting the person in front of me then more people come in from outside and start attacking everyone, blood got everywhere and the screams…Eve the screams…" She breaths heavily as sobs continue in small bursts.

I walk back towards the TV where the reporter is talking about a refugee camp being set up in Atlanta by the military and suggests everyone to go when they believe the path is safe. In the middle of her explaining we should stay away from anyone who was bitten or scratched, an emergency broadcast comes on and the screen goes black. I don't bother listening to the broadcast, knowing that they'll probably just tell us to stay indoors and wait for help. If there's one thing I know for sure is help doesn't always come, usually you have to help yourself.

I look back at Lexi, who's standing and staring blankly at the TV. I kick into overdrive, knowing that if we stay here we'll likely never get help. "We have to get out of here." She turns her head towards me and nods in agreement. "Go pack a bag and we'll leave in 10. Are you going to be ok?" Our best bet is making it to that refugee camp.

She nods weakly, "I'll be ok, let's just get the hell out of here." She walks to her room and I make my way towards mine. I keep myself focused on the task at hand, right now there's no time to worry or freak out.

As I begin shoving clothes and other necessities in a duffle bag, I glimpse the cases on the top shelf of my closet. I pull the larger one down and open it up, thinking of late night practices and the competition that obviously won't happen. The Hoyt Buffalo with black limbs and silver riser was the first brand new bow I ever bought. The first time I won an archery competition I knew I was hooked, after that I started practicing after school to get ready for the next one. When the first bow I was using broke I was forced to abandon my passion for a while.

Knowing I would have to make the money myself, I got a part time job at a 24 hour gas station to make some money. It took a while, but eventually I saved up enough to buy my own bow. Tragically, when I got home after school all the money was gone, taken by my step father. Not long after that, I left his house in the middle of the night, not being able to stand living under the same roof as him any longer. I had to jump from one friends place to another until graduation. My unwavering desire to escape that life propelled me to study obsessively for school in order to get scholarships. Luckily, I managed to earn a full ride to an out of state university in Georgia and I gladly left California behind. It was only a year later that I managed to save up enough money working at a local bar to once again buy a bow. Ever since I've practiced every day, aiming to be the best and win every competition I could.

That doesn't look like it'll happen now; hell, who knows what'll happen now. I slide my hand down the all too familiar limbs, my heart dropping at this new revelation; everything I had worked so hard for, it was for naught. I try to push these thoughts down, knowing there's no time to feel sorry for myself.

I stand and get the second case from the top shelf, I pull the Smith and Wesson 1911TA E-Series out of the protective foam and slip it into the front band of my jeans after checking the magazine to make sure it's loaded. I take the extra magazines and ammo and shove those in the duffle as well. I grab my bow, flinging it over my back, and the quiver full of arrows on my way out of my room. _Here we go._

* * *

"What in the fresh hell is going on now?!" I attempt to shake the wheel in frustration. As if this day couldn't get any worse, the road to Atlanta is jam packed and we haven't moved an inch in over an hour. At this point I don't even think there's enough room in Atlanta, maybe this refugee camp is a hoax.

"The radio is telling everyone to get to the refugee center in Atlanta, it was bound to be packed. We'll get there, hopefully." Lexi has been fiddling with the radio the whole time, when a message does make its way through the static its the same emergency broadcast, besides that there is nothing. Needless to say, I started zoning it out.

I hop out of the truck, a 1990 black Toyota Pickup. I picked her up off a junk yard for cheap and have slowly fixed her up; added a lift, wheels and tires, and a bumper. Working part time at a local bar plus the money from the archery competitions meant I had money and wanted to spend it. I still spent a lot of time in the woods so I needed a truck that could get me anywhere I wanted to go, and this baby does the job. I start stretching out, muscles sore from sitting in place for so long. "I want to go figure out what the hell is happening up there, coming?" Lexi nods her head and gets out of the truck silently. I make sure I have my gun in my waistband and lock my truck up.

We walk up the road and pass by parents trying to calm down their children, telling them they're going on a vacation, and people trying to rationalize what they saw as a flu gone wrong. I may not be a scientist, but I know this is something we've never seen before. We saw more people eating each other and cops trying to shoot at them, but they kept coming until they got shot in the head. It's all still hard to believe and I find myself wondering if it's all just a big nightmare. Maybe I'll wake up tomorrow and this'll all be some weird dream my drunk brain thought up, but I doubt it.

After walking a few minutes in silence, I notice more people have exited their cars and are walking up the hill same as us. I keep scanning the area and my eyes land on an older truck with two guys in the bed, I watch as they rip a cover off a motorcycle strapped in the bed. As we get closer I can start to hear their voices, but still can't understand what they're saying. The obviously older, bald one take notice of us first and gives me a creepy smile as he eyes me up and down.

He lets out a wolf whistle, making me stop in surprise, "Well, well. Look at this lil' bro…hey Red, let's go in the woods and bump uglies while we still alive." The guy next to him, his little brother, puts his head down and turns away. It's dark, but I make out that he has dark hair, blue eyes, toned arms and is much better looking than his brother. _I always get the ugly ones hitting on me…_

I look at him with venom, "I would rather grab a bull by the nut sack."

I turn around and begin walking off as he yells back, "I'll be your bull, sweet cheeks!"

Lexi is laughing beside me as I fake gag, laughing at the ridiculousness of that man, "Look, you're making friends already, Eve."

"Ha Ha, very funny." With my luck, that would be the type of guy I make fast friends of. I roll my eyes at the thought.

We keep walking until we come across some people standing around a Jeep and some older looking wagon type vehicle. There are two kids, a young girl and boy, and a woman, older with short hair and a kind face, by the rear end of the older car and a guy in the Jeep messing with the radio. I hear one of the kids saying they were hungry and the woman with short hair say she can get him something. As she goes around the car I see a mean looking guy that was standing off to the side shut the door in her face. I can't hear what he's telling her, but she get a frightened look on her face, one that I remember all too well, and I immediately decide I don't like the guy.

Feeling bad for the woman who was just trying to help I step in, "I've got a granola bar, m&m, trust me it's the best." The boy's eyes light up when I reach into my pocket and produce said bar, handing it over as he holds out his hand.

A woman with long dark brown hair comes up and puts her arms around his shoulder, obviously his mother, "Thank you for that." The guy that was in the Jeep walks up and stands in front of her, waiting.

The older woman comes up to us, looking distraught "Ed must have forgot to pack those MRE's, I found these in my purse." She produces some crackers.

"It's ok, this woman had something." She turns to me, "I didn't get you name."

"It's Evelyn, or Eve for short. This is Lexi. My truck is back there a ways, I was just coming up to see what's happening." Lexi, who is telling the kids about a time she went camping and ran out of food because a bear ate it, waves as I say her name.

"That's what we were about to do, I'm Lori," She points to the man in front of her, "This is Shane, and this little man is Carl." She ruffles his hair and he shoves her hand away playfully.

The older woman looks at me, an overly trying smile on her face, "And I'm Carol, this is Sophia," She hugs her daughter close to her, "And he's Ed." She gestures the the mean looking man smoking near the front of the car.

Lori steps closer to Carol and asks her to watch Carl for a minute while they walk up the highway. She kisses the top of his head and Shane fluffs his hair. I tell Lexi I'm going with them, she barely acknowledges me as she continues playing checkers with the kids. She's always been great with children, which is why she's studying to be a teacher.

I walk silently behind Shane and Lori, trying to figure out what they're talking about, but I'm unable to hear them as a loud banging reaches my ears. People start fighting in the street and we keep walking towards a clearing in the forest when we hear helicopters overhead. They start running, trying to figure out where the helicopters are doing and I follow. We make our way to a spot on the hill where the city is visible, at night everything looks so peaceful that you would think nothing bad is happening. We all watch silently as they make they're way over the city. Then the explosions start, making everyone gasp and some start crying. Shane says they're dropping napalm on the streets and pulls Lori closer to him as she starts crying.

At this point, I'm not sure what to think or do. Atlanta was supposed to be safe, that's why we are all on this highway. What are we supposed to do now? We have no where to go and still have no idea what's going on. I get this sinking feeling in my chest, and a take deep breaths to try and calm my beating pulse. _I can't fall apart now, that's not going to solve anything. We just have to get someplace safe and wait this out._

We all stand there, staring at the devastation for what feels like hours. Finally, Shane starts walking back to where we came from, a distressed Lori right behind him. I follow without thinking since I have no other idea where to go and I can tell he has a plan by his determined gait.

We get back to the others and I know Lexi sees right away that something bad happened. Shane starts talking about some campsite he knows would be nice, but Lexi comes up to me and asks me what we're doing. I'm wondering the same thing, I don't have an idea and I'm not sure if we're invited to this place with Shane and the others, after all we just met them. I'm interrupted by Shane walking up to us.

"Lori and I talked it over, Carol and Ed are following and we wanted to extend the invitation to you two as well." Looking at him, I notice he has a shirt with a sheriff star and a holster with a gun. _Well, cops are trustworthy right? Not like we have another option anyways…_

"Thank you, I appreciate it." He starts to give us directions and I hope that Lexi remembers them because I have never been good at memorization. Once they all start getting into their vehicles, Lexi and I start heading back to my truck. I take a quick glance at the old ford and see the brothers sitting in their truck, the older one is in the drivers seat and the younger in passenger. Suddenly, the younger one looks my way and I can't seem to look away. I feel my cheeks redden even though I'm not sure why and turn around, hoping Lexi didn't notice. Luckily, she seems lost in thought and is staring straight ahead.

"We'll be ok." I'm not too sure why I said it, but I can only hope I'm right.

She looks at me and gives me a sad smile, "I think so too, eventually. At least they all seem like nice people. Hopefully this place is as nice as Shane was explaining it."

We make it to the truck, hop in, and set out. I drive out to the shoulder and try to remember the directions, luckily I spot a couple vehicles turing up a dirt road just ahead and follow them. I recognize the older vehicle as Carol and Ed's and Shane's Jeep just ahead. After following this road for a couple minutes, I see headlights in my rearview. "Looks like we got people following us."

She looks behind us before shrugging, "They probably had no where else to go either, right now everyone is lost."

"Strength in numbers I suppose. If things are as bad as it seems then we'll need to stick together to survive." She nods her head in agreement. The rest of the drive passes in silence until we finally come up to a clearing. It's hard to make anything out with how dark it is, but it's better than the highway. I park my truck away from Shane and Ed; mostly because I still don't know them and I like my personal space, but also because Ed gives me the creeps. I look over at Lexi and see that she's fallen asleep so I get out of the truck carefully and ease the door shut.

I walk over to Shane, who's getting a bag with a picture of a tent out of the back of his Jeep. He hands it to Lori and I see her start to set it up a few feet away. He nods his head at me, "We should be safe here, but we'll need to get some supplies to really set this place up." He pauses when more headlights appear in the clearing. "Looks like we got company."

I follow him out of curiosity. _And it's good to know your neighbors, right?_ The first vehicle he walks up to is one I actually know, the old Ford with the two brothers. _Of course, well this'll be interesting._ The older one is leaning up against the passenger side door while the younger one leans up against the bed, eyes fixed on a crossbow in his hands. I've never been a fan of crossbows, so I don't know much about it just by looking at it.

Shane looks imposing as he stares at the brothers, "Who are you and why did you follow us?" _Nice and blunt._

The older one gets closer to Shane, "Didn't know I need ta check in." His face changes from hostile to friendly, but an obviously fake kind of friendly. "Ain't got no where else ta go. Merle Dixon, sunshine there is Daryl." Merle looks over at me, recognition flying across his features. "Well, well if it ain't the spitfire from earlier. Ready to go off in tha woods yet?"

 _Ugghh, gross._ Daryl looks up at the mention of spitfire and meets my gaze briefly before focusing on his crossbow again. "Not hardly."

Merle smirks at me before turning his attention back to Shane, "We hunt. We'll jus' set up oer' theren' stay outta your hair." He motions to a place tucked away from the main camping area. I don't realize I've been staring at Merle until he smirks and comments, "Unless ya want me there, Red." He looks at me seductively as he eyes me in a way that makes my skin crawl, and not in a good way. _Seriously? Does this guy not take a hint._

"Look, if you need a tease and please that bad I'll shove my gun right up your a…" I don't get a chance to finish when I suddenly see Daryl's back. In the blink of an eye Merle stepped forward like he was about to hit me, but Daryl stepped in front of me and put a hand on his shoulder. He didn't say anything, but whatever he did worked as Merle backed off and started pacing around the truck. I can feel my heart pounding, wondering what would have happened if Daryl hadn't stepped in front of me. I was always told my temper would get me in trouble one day. I blame the Irish in me for my short temper.

Daryl turns around and glares down at me, "That was stupid." He has a deep accent common to those in Georgia and his voice sends shivers racing down my arms, partly due to the sexiness of said voice and party due to the severity of his words. He turns around and gets in the truck with Merle and I stand there speechlessly watching as they drive to their secluded section of camp.

Shane looks at me like a father about to lecture his child, "You should get some sleep, we'll probably be busy tomorrow settin' this place up." Shane doesn't wait for me to respond before walking off to the other vehicles.

 _That was excellent, piss off the moody redneck and make his brother think I'm an idiot. I can only imagine what Shane thinks of me as well._ I storm off to my truck, half upset at myself and half at Shane for so casually dismissing me. Somehow I get in the truck without waking Lexi. I put my seat all the way back and eventually fall into a restless sleep, my mind throwing images of explosions and death into my nightmares.

* * *

 _ **Fun fact: Call of the Zombie is an introduction song to an album by Rob Zombie called Hellbilly Deluxe. I thought it a fitting first chapter title! :D**_


	2. Chapter 2 - Down the Rabbit Hole

_**Authors Note:** Once again, I do not own the Walking Dead and don't make any money by writing this little tale. Everything belongs to the creative writers and directors of the show and comic books. The only things I own are my OC's._

 _Well, here's the second chapter! Just remember, this is rated **M** so be aware of that in this and the next chapter as I will be getting into detail about the main OC's past, which isn't a good one._

 _Hope you enjoy!_

 _-DragonLady_

 _Updated 4-23-2016_

* * *

" _ **You say that you want respect**_

 _ **Well then you better get some for yourself.**_

 _ **'Cause all that I see right now,**_

 _ **Is someone who's lost and insecure."**_

 _ **Senses Fail**_ _ **-**_ _ **Lady In A Blue Dress**_

 _ **Chapter 2 - Down the Rabbit Hole**_

* * *

I open my eyes slowly, having barely slept last night I can already feel the exhaustion creeping up on me. The sun shines dimly through the windows, making me assume it's incredibly early in the morning. I look towards the passenger side, but am surprised to find it empty. Getting out of the truck wakes my sore muscles and I struggle to stretch them out. The camp seems relatively quiet, possibly due to how early it is. I can hear the birds chirping and the air smells fresh and clean, If I didn't know any better I wouldn't have thought the world was going to hell in a hand basket. I look around and spot a number of vehicles I didn't see last night, a lot of people must have followed us up here, and I look towards the Dixon side of camp. It doesn't look like they're there, but there's two tents set up and a small table with a couple knives that are shining in the sunlight.

I make a mental note to go into the woods later, I've got an itch to use my bow as I probably would have been out practicing by now if everything was normal. Giving myself a strict schedule of nightly practices for the past 6 months, I know it'll be hard for me to kick the habit now. Besides for that, I'm actually pretty eager to see if my skill extends to the ability of hunting as well. At the mention of the brothers' ability, I'm curious as to how hard it actually is.

After I hear the soft sound of feet on loose gravel and look towards a path that leads down to see Lexi walking up. I make my way towards her, "I don't think I've ever seen you up this early." As I look over to where she walked up from and see a sparkling quarry that looks peaceful and relaxing, I'll defiantly have to go down there sometime.

She looks around the campsite before stopping right in front of me, "Not by choice, the douche b's over there (she gestures toward the Dixon's camp) slammed the door to their truck before heading into the forest. The sound woke me up so I started checking things out, I was just walking around the quarry down there. It's very pretty." She gets a sad look on her face, emotions cross her face so fast that it's hard to figure out what she's feeling. "Do you think this is happening everywhere? Maybe DC is fine, do you think?"

My heart drops, DC is where her family is; she has a brother there with her mom and dad. "I'm not sure, but if it is happening there maybe they got somewhere safe. There's always a possibility, right?" I realize I have no one to be sad about so I have no idea how she's feeling. Here she is having no way to know if her family is safe when she's the only person in my life that I would actually worry about. Is it better to have no one in this case? Maybe for once that gnawing emptiness will prove useful, but the thought leaves me feeling guilty.

"I hope so." She starts walking back towards the truck and begins grabbing some clothes out of her bag. I look down and see my shirt covered in dirt and start grabbing a change of clothes as well. _Just because we're surrounded by dirt doesn't mean I have to wear it as well._ She looks around the campsite where people are beginning to wake up and check the place out as Lexi had, "Where's a dressing room when you need one?"

I look over towards the Dixon camp again, noticing how there's an area past the truck that would be hard to see from the main camp, which gives me an idea. _Since they aren't there, they wouldn't mind if we were there for a few minutes now would they?_ "There's a spot over there." I point towards the camp and get a skeptical look from Lexi. "Like you said, they're gone so it'll be fine."

We start walking towards their camp and notice a few people getting out of an RV and others out of vehicles. I spot Shane walking around and talking to a few people I don't recognize and make a note to talk to him once I've changed about helping set this place up. When we make it behind the Ford we quickly start undressing. I place my clean clothes on the side of the truck bed so they don't get dirty. I take my shirts off first and then take my gun out of my waistband to place it on top of my shirts so it won't get dirt in anything important.

By the time I have my pants off I notice Lexi already pulling up her jeans, she's always been able to change in a flash. I contribute it to her experience as a cheerleader in high school. _You know, because they had to change into their uniforms at school…ya that's what I meant, not because they got out of them so much._ She looks over at me with her eyebrow raised, "You take forever, I'm going to talk to Lori. She wanted me to keep an eye on Carl today."

 _Letting someone you just met watching after your kid all day, that's interesting. I mean I know Lexi is good with kids, but Lori doesn't know that._ "You want to take our stuff back to the truck, I'll be done in a second." I start pulling on my pants and slip my gun in the waistband again while she picks up our pile of dirty clothes and heads back to my truck. I take my boots and socks off and put on new socks and lace my other boots on one at a time.

I grab my tank top and start pulling it over my head when I hear a whistle that makes my heart start hammering in my chest and turn around to see none other than the Dixon brothers. I yank my top down and grab my flannel to start buttoning it up. _How long were they watching?_

The look on Merle's face makes me want to slap him, "Looks like we get a lil' show an' tell this mornin'." I feel my face heat up, Lexi was right, this was NOT a good idea. "If ya wanted someone ta put some color back in your cheeks all ya had ta do was ask."

I look next to him and see Daryl looking away from me, making me wonder why he wouldn't be ogling me as his brother obviously was. _Wait, why do I care anyway?_ Not having anything to say in response, I grab my stuff and walk away. I hear Merle saying something about my ass as I walk away, fuming.

When I get to my truck I throw my boots by my bag and slam the door. My instincts kick in when I reach for my bow and throw my quiver over my shoulder. Knowing there's only one thing able to calm my anger. I walk towards the front of camp, trying to get as far away from Merle as I could, before going into the woods.

I don't go far before picking a tree in the distance, rolling my sleeves up to my elbows to keep them out of the way, and start shooting it, an imaginary target stamped into the bark. I fire one after another, my anger and embarrassment fading as fast as each arrow flying towards the bullseye. My bow is like an extension of my hand, the feel of the pull and release as I fire is one that I've always enjoyed. I only stop when there's no arrows left, the arrows all clumped in a neat circle in the bark. I place my bow down and as I go to the tree and start plucking out the arrows I hear leaves crushing loudly. I don't even bother looking to see who it is, I just keep pulling the arrows out and restocking my quiver.

"Pretty impressive." I know the voice as Shane's and turn around when all the arrows are out of the tree. I can imagine my face as being impatient, but can't control my emotions quite as much as I usually do at this moment.

"Thanks, been doing it since I was in high school." I stop in front of him with my hand on my hip, figuring he is here for a specific reason and give him a questioning stare.

"I was coming to ask you if you knew how to handle that gun you're carrying, but if you shoot anything like that I think I just got my answer." I give him a quizzical look. _How the hell did he know I had a gun._ Possibly knowing the look I'm giving him, he shrugs, "I'm a cop, I know when someone is carrying a gun in their jeans, plus I saw it."

He smirks as me, but I just turn away to pick my bow up. For some reason I'm disappointed someone knows I have a gun, I was hoping I could keep that to myself, "Honestly, don't have as much practice with my gun. I'm much more comfortable with this."

He nods his head, "That's good, got a hunch that these things are attracted to noise anyway. About the supplies we need, I'm gathering a team to go into town and we could use you. And your bow."

I've got to admit, I've never been needed before and for someone to say it now, I kinda like it. _Maybe I'll actually be able to help._ "Are the Dixon's going?" After their sneak peak this morning I don't want to be anywhere near them right now.

"So far, no. They said they were hunting today." _So far…guess that's better than a yes._

"Count me in then." He turns around and beings walking away, I sling my quiver over my shoulder and follow after him. "When are we heading out?" _The sooner I leave this camp the better._

"Now, everything is loaded up and ready to go. We got a van so we should be able to get most everything we need." He nods his head at the two standing against the side of the van, once they move I can see the wording on the side indicating it's some church van. The two men walk over to us, one is a tall strong looking guy with a kind face and the other is shorter with a strained expression.

Shane motions towards the kind faced guy, "This is Theodore, or T-Dog," then to the other one, "and this is Morales." They both give me a friendly smile.

I give an awkward wave and mentally slap myself, "Evelyn, but I prefer Eve." _I'll just have to blame my weirdness on my hunger._ _I didn't even get my coffee, no wonder I feel so tired. Coffee, I'm definitely going to miss that._

Shane starts barking orders for us to start heading out so I just jump in the van and go to the very back. I put my bow on my lap and close my eyes, trying to take a few moments to relax. I saw a few of those walking dead things in the street on the way out of town, but haven't really been close to one, much less killed one. _Will it be hard to kill them, you know, because they look so much like the rest of us? I mean, I guess it's kind of us or them, right? Besides, the people they were before are gone. I mean, what actual person would eat other people? I know the news said the CDC was working on a cure, but what if there isn't one?_ I sit there for a few minutes until I hear doors slamming and the van start up. Before we leave, however, I hear Shane mumble something along the lines of _'changed your mind, get in,'_ and then the side door slides open.

 _Please don't be Merle, please don't be Merle._ I open my eyes and am relieved to find that it is not in fact Merle, but Daryl. He looks at me in the back, frowns slightly, closes the door and sits in front of me. _What was the frown for? What did I ever do to him?_

The ride starts off uneventfully, everyone seems just as nervous as I feel. Well, everyone except Daryl, who's as cool as a polar bear in winter. _I bet he's killed one of those things._ I find myself envious of his calm demeanor. I don't realize I've been staring until I find his deep blue eyes boring into my own green ones. I get this feeling that he can see right through the front I've put up since I left high school and it leaves me feeling exposed. I feel my face heating up, but can't make myself turn away.

"Whas'ur name?" Once again I find myself melting slightly with his southern drawl. Back in California, there were rarely any accents and I always found them particularly irresistible. Probably because they remind me nothing of where I'm from, which to me, is a good thing.

"E-Evelyn," I want to slap myself for stuttering, and take a deep breath before continuing, "but you can call me Eve, if you want." Smooth.

"Hmm." And with that he turns back around, effectively ending the conversation.

 _Well that was odd, to say the least._ I look out the window the rest of the ride, occasionally stealing glances at the back of Daryl's head, still curious about what happened. _Why ask my name to just turn around anyway?_ I remember this morning briefly and stop looking over at him, embarrassment coming out in full force again. The rest of the ride I spend half awake half spaced out, my head leaning against the back of the seat. I hear snippets of a conversation between Shane and the others, trying to figure out the best place to go, I'm guessing. I mostly tune it out, though, and only become aware when the van stops.

When we reach the city we stop by a fence and we all pile out of the van, Shane telling us it would be better to go on foot from here. I hop out after Daryl gets out, making sure I've got everything and begin to stretch out as Shane starts talking, "From here we'll split up, some of us going to get food and supplies for camp and others getting any weapons, ammo, and anything else we might need to defend ourselves."

He pauses in thought for a second and I take the opportunity to look around us. The streets are abandoned with cars littering the street, some are untouched while others have broken windows and bullet holes, reminding me of a ghost town. It's difficult to believe that just a few days ago it was bustling with activity as Lexi and I spent the night going from bar to bar, we only ever went to the city on the weekends. I pull myself out of my trance when Shane starts up again. "Morales, T-Dog, and myself will go get food and supplies for the campsite, I figure we need as many people as we can to get the most important stuff while Eve and Daryl can search for weapons."

I nod in agreement, a little nervous to be alone with Daryl most of the day, but not one to complain over trivial matters. Shane and his group take some empty bags out of the back of the van, handing us a few, and we all agree to meet back here in a couple hours, before it gets dark.

I watch them jog away towards the South and turn towards Daryl. "Got any ideas, I don't know much about this area."

Daryl watches me for a moment before speaking, "Think I know a few places, jus' keep up." He starts jogging, but with how short I am I need to run just to stay slightly behind him.

He doesn't seem in the mood for small talk so I oblige and keep my mouth shut, the less I talk the less chance I have of embarrassing myself further anyway. My mouth starts to become dry, but I suddenly realize I didn't think to pack any water. I keep my pace, not wanting to slow him down or become a hassle. _Hey, at least I'm getting in my daily amount of exercise._

When we get to, what appears to be, a specialty archery shop he slows down and raises his crossbow, ready for whatever might be in there. I follow suite, readying my bow by notching an arrow and holding it at the ready. He opens the door quickly, but quietly and motions me to go in. The door allows the sunlight to pour into the shop in a bright stream and when the door closes I wait to readjust to the slightly darker surroundings.

He veers off to the right so I start going to the left, bow raised and arrow notched. I hear a moaning sound coming from the back of the store and head in that direction while fully drawing the arrow. As I get to the end of the store I see the cause of the noise; a woman, or at least what used to be a woman, her right arm missing from the elbow down and her left leg has large holes in them which make her drag that leg as she walks. He eyes look empty, void of any semblance of her previous humanity, and her skin is a sickly color. In short, she looks dead. I'm stuck there for a moment watching it, wondering what could cause a human to turn into that. She turns slightly and finally notices my presence.

Eagerly she starts walking towards me with her arms raised and I see no remaining human resemblance; there's no life in her eyes, just an inhumane hunger. I take a deep breath and fire the arrow as I let my breath out. Her head jolts back slightly from the impact before she slumps to the ground in a disheveled heap. I walk over to her and yank my arrow out, wiping it on her shirt before returning it to my quiver. I force myself not to feel bad for what I did, but as I stare into the eyes of my victim I can't help feel a minuscule of guilt of ending someone's life. If life is what you could truly call it anymore.

Lost in my own thoughts, I don't notice the other body coming at me from behind until I hear the impact of it's body hitting the ground and the spurt of blood that lands on my exposed arm. I gasp, frightened out of my thoughts and turn around to see a bolt sticking out of it's head.

"What 'cha thinkin'? Keep actin' like than an' you'll get us both killed!" Daryl saunters over to the now limp body while yelling at me and angrily yanks the bolt out of the man's head as I try to wipe the blood on my jeans. He glares at me before turning and going to the other side of the store and shoving stuff in his bag.

I let out a frustrated sigh before taking his lead and shoving whatever appears useful into my bag as well. I grab as many components to make arrows as I can, knowing that once mine start breaking I'll need to replace them quickly. Luckily, I find a couple of my favorite broadheads; Wasp Queens and DirtNap DRT. _Hooray for small victories!_ My mind starts to wander while I continue to put things in my bag. I think back to yesterday and still can't believe the dramatic turn of events. Something inside of me told me not to trust that 'everything was going to be ok,' but I still went about like nothing was wrong. When stories went around about people biting others, I just thought it was a strange side effect to whatever sickness of disease this was. Like most everyone else, however, I assumed the CDC would find a cure and everything would go back to normal. _How naive that was._

"Are'ya done?" The sudden sound of his voice makes me spin around so quickly I feel myself become lightheaded, I put my hand out to try and steady myself. Once it passes, I find myself looking into the concerned face of Daryl. At least for a minute until he gets that look on his face like I'm about to be lectured, but instead of saying anything he looks down in the direction of his arm. As I follow his gaze I notice my hand wrapped around his forearm, apparently that's what I used to steady myself. I yank my hand away quickly, feeling my cheeks heat up before I mumble a "let's go" and make my way to the exit, all the while just telling myself it's still just my hunger that's getting to me.

Standing outside in the unforgiving sun, I feel another wave of lightheadedness pass through me. I hear Daryl's footsteps and, luckily, fight through the weakness my body is showing. "We got 'bout two more hours, are ya gunna faint if we make another stop?" He looks me up and down, his ever-present scowl covering his features.

I grimace at his accusatory tone, "I'm fine." He looks at me for a moment, almost as if debating whether to believe me or not. "Lead the way." I make a gesture for him to go ahead.

"Humph." He readjusts the bag across his shoulder before silently stalking off to the next location. I can't help but glimpse the muscles extending as he does so and I quickly pry my eyes away from him.

 _Don't need anymore reasons to be berated today and I'm sure ogling would be a reason. Snap out of it Eve, you've never been one of those obnoxious girls trailing after guys who didn't even like them, no reason to start now._ I grip my bow tighter, watching as my knuckles turn white. _I had to tiptoe around as a teenager, knowing one wrong word or action would lead to a night full of pain and shame. Fighting is nothing new, I did it once and I can do it again. I used to doubt myself, but I'm not that frightened teenager anymore. Archery saved me once, I just hope it'll keep me grounded once again._

My focus snaps back to attention when I no longer hear the rhythmic sound of Daryl's footsteps. He's stopped in front of another weapons store, a sign indicating a knife sale flapping in the slight breeze, and motions me over to the door. I pull my bow up, notching an arrow and getting ready to enter the building. He confidently opens the door, glances around, and fires at something in the distance. I go in after him, quickly looking around the building. One those things is already on the ground, a bolt sticking out of its head when I see another one to my left and fire, watching at the arrow lands between its eyes and the body slumps down to the ground.

I go collect my arrow then go straight to the display case to my left where I see a few knives and blades still left untouched. I lean my bow against the side and use the butt of my gun to crack open the display case before putting it back in my waistband. Careful to avoid any glass, I find a black bladed machete with a saw blade up top, turning it around in my hand a few times before deciding I like it. I figure it'll be a good idea to have a closer range option just in case things get too hairy. I grab other knives and machetes, stuffing them all into my bag and make my way to the holsters and putting a ton in the bag as well, even finding a few that might work for the one I picked out for myself. As I start looking over the remaining ammo options (grabbing what's left of the .45 of course) when a sudden wave of nausea crashes through me. Dropping my bag I feel myself struggling to stand, holding my stomach I try to stagger towards the sign reading 'bathroom' before I puke.

I barely register the toilet as I dispose of my meager last meal of a granola bar on the ride over here. After the contents of my stomach are completely empty I lean against the stall, the cold walls soothe my burning face. My mouth feels dry and my head is spinning, when I try to stand I find myself shaking so much that I just fall back down. _How have I fallen this much? I'm not supposed to be this weak…_

In my dazed state I think I hear moaning, but with everything being blurry and my ears ringing I can't tell if it's real or just a cruel joke my mind is playing on me. When I hear it again, however, my heart begins racing more than it already was, making me feel faint. I turn my head in the direction of the last stall, two doors down, and see a pair of shoes shuffling towards the door. Panic begins to rise when I realize what it is, I crawl out of my stall right as the walking dead person exists his stall. Its clothes are torn off in pieces where flesh has been eaten away, its skin is grey and his face is devoid of all previous humanity. It snaps its teeth at me and when I reach for my bow I realize I dropped it on my hurry into the bathroom. _Fuck, now what?_

I scream out, but my voice barely leaves my chapped lips. I don't know if Daryl heard me, but my raspy noise drew that thing to walk faster towards me. I keep trying to crawl away when my brain finally registers something, _I still have my gun!_ I fumble getting it out and shakily try to aim it when the thing drops to the ground and grabs at my boot; I panic, drop my gun, and try to shake him off.

 _So this is it? I'm going to die in a bathroom, doesn't that sound like a great way to go?_

I see my gun, just a little ways to my right and stretch my arm out trying to get it. I shake my leg as hard as I can, getting a little extra room as I feel my fingers brush against the handle of my gun. I grab it, swinging it in front of me and shooting just as that thing opens it's mouth, trying to take a bite out of my leg. My vision becomes blurry, my head aching like an anvil was dropped on it; everything becomes black and an eerie peacefulness washes over me as I slip into the pressing oblivion. The last image that flashes through my head is Daryl holding his crossbow limply at his side, a look of frustration and possibly concern etching his usually dour features.

* * *

 ** _Hope you enjoyed, reviews are always welcome!_**

 ** _Also, I'm already working on the next chapter so there's a possibility of it coming out before next week. Cross your fingers!_**

 _ **Fun fact: Alice in Wonderland (2010) is my favorite movie.**_


	3. Chapter 3 - Stupid People are Dangerous

_**Authors Note:** Still, _d _on't own anything from the Walking Dead, unfortunately! I do, however, own my OC's._

 ** _Warning: There is mention of abuse in this chapter, so be warned. It is rated M for a reason!_**

 _Also, to anyone who celebrates, hope you have a HAPPY TURKEY DAY! Due to the holidays, it may be a little longer before I can update after this, but I will try my hardest to at least put up another 2 chapters before the end of the year. Reviews help, so anything you want to comment on or ask about feel free!_

 _-DragonLady_

 _Updated 4-23-2016_

* * *

" _ **I know that it's killing me,**_

 _ **and it's poisoning the best of me,**_

 _ **What I see, I don't want to believe.**_

 _ **So let me tell you more, tell you more,**_

 _ **about the lies I lead."**_

 _ **Atreyu - Slow Burn**_

 _ **Chapter 3 - Stupid People are Dangerous**_

* * *

 **4 years ago**

I look at my watch, dread washing over me as I notice the time, it's past midnight. _Shit!_ I knew I shouldn't have stayed, but the temptation was just too great. The last football game of my senior year and the first time in a long time that I've actually felt like the 17 year old girl I'm supposed to be. Now it's back to reality, and boy will it suck. I try to think of a way to excuse my absence, knowing that nothing I come up with is believable I just pray that the late hour means he already drank himself to sleep and won't even notice how late it is. A breeze picks up and I wrap the jacket around me, the smell of cologne still evident. I touch my lips, the sensation still there from the kiss that was planted there by Brent Miller. I've had a crush on him since sophomore year and is the main reason why I'm out so late still. Once he started talking to me I was stuck, feeling like a lovesick freshmen. _Is this what it feels like, to be normal? What I would give to have been able to feel like this throughout high school._

I pull my thoughts away from the evening when I see the near decrepit house coming into view. I walk slowly up the porch and open the door with careful ease, like if I open it too fast everything will just start crumbling down. I close the door and turn around, coming face to face with the person I was trying to avoid. I hear the deafening sound before I can feel it, the burning sensation on the side of my face is all too familiar. I place my cool hand against my cheek, getting temporary relief from the burning.

"The hell 'ave ya been?" The overpowering smell of alcohol and his slurring speech lead me to believe he's at least half a bottle and a six pack down. He looks at me insatiably, making my stomach churn. When he's like this, I know all he can see is my mother. I used to love the fact that I looked so much like her, but now it's only a curse. Maybe if I looked less like her he never would have bothered with me.

"School." I duck around him, knowing he can't move fast when he's that drunk and run up to my room. I close and lock my door and hope he'll just grab another bottle and leave me alone.

The pounding on the door crushes that thought, however. _I won't do this anymore, two weeks until I'm 18 and 6 months until I start classes at college. No more letting him push me around or using me as a replacement for my dead mother only to blame me for her death at every other moment._

Quickly, I begin throwing the very few possessions I have into a duffle bag. I make sure I have the picture of my mother and I, the only thing I have left of her, then stand on my bed to get my stash of money and my ticket out of the air vent. It's not much, but it'll get me by and my plane ticket will take me to Atlanta right after graduation. After that, I'll figure it out. As I'm throwing my legs out of my window I see him knock my door down, the look on his face contorting into unbridled anger when he sees me leaving. _Not tonight, never ever again will you lay a hand on me._ I complete my escape and sprint towards the woods, it's been my safe haven throughout high school so its only fitting that it shelters me once more.

Running through the woods has always brought me a sense of relief. I run until I'm panting and my face is numb. I drop my pack next to a tree and lay against the bark. I just sit there catching my breath when the tears start falling. Like most days, I think back to when my mother was still alive. My step father had been kind and loving, but changed after her death. At first it was just yelling, but the more he drank the more agitated and temperamental he got. Even in the midst of summer I would wear long sleeves to hide the bruises. I stopped hanging out with my friends because I knew they would see right through me. I just always thought it would get better, that eventually he would wake up and realize what he'd done and we would go back to normal. _Was I always this naive?_

* * *

 **Present**

I bolt up, gasping for breath and sweating from my panic induced walk down memory lane. It takes me a minute to remember where I am, only I'm not in the bathroom anymore. Actually, I'm on what appears to be a display case. The last thing I remember is that dead thing clambering to get a bite out of me, but I don't see any blood or bite or anything. _What the hell happened, and why did I pass out?_

"It almos' got ya." Daryl's voice startles me, not knowing he was sitting just behind me.

I sit up, swinging my legs over and standing up. My head is pounding and I barely manage to catch the bottle of water Daryl throws to me. "My head feels like I got punched." I notice my gun and bag on the counter where I was laying.

"P'rolly dehydrated." He walks over to me, at 5'4 I find myself looking up at him. "Ya shouldn't 'ave come. Coulda got us both killed." And with that, he picks up his crossbow and bag while walking swiftly towards the exit.

 _Tell me how you really feel._ Feeling ashamed, I grab my stuff off the counter and run after him. I put my gun back in my jeans and quickly throw my quiver over my shoulder. I throw the water bottle in my bag after taking a large sip before tossing the bag full of knives over the shoulder opposite my bow. _It feels like I'm in high school all over again, unable to defend myself and feeling too weak to try. At least I killed it, I mean, that's got to count for something right? It's not my fault that I was dehydrated, well, ya I guess it is._

I feel hot tears falling down my face, memories of my past haunting my thoughts. I quickly wipe them away before Daryl sees, the last thing I want him to see is me crying. He walks fast, but this time I don't try to keep up. I remember where the van is, so I let him walk ahead of me. My mind races so fast that it makes me dizzy, I had finally started to feel normal, happy even, and now it feels like I'm back where I started. How has my strength left me so suddenly, the fire that pushed me to be more than who I was?

I was told I was worthless so much that I started to believe it. The only thing that saved me was the bow tucked away in the garage that belonged to my mother. Before she died she had always tried to get me into the sport, but I was always too busy going to the mall or goofing off. After she died and I held onto her bow, I finally took it up so I could feel closer to her in some small way. I would spend hours in the woods, only giving up because my fingers were bleeding. When that bow broke I was devastated, I no longer had an escape to the hell that had become my life.

I shake my head, unwilling to let more tears fall, and try to dissipate the onslaught of memories. I feel a sharp pain in my hand and as I hold it up to view I see crescents in my palm producing a small stream of blood. I hadn't realized I was digging my nails into my hand, luckily my other hand was still holding onto my bow. I wipe the blood on my jeans as the van comes into view, Daryl leaning on the side. I keep my head down as I make my way to the back to throw my bag in. _I just hope I didn't mess this whole day up, I still have a bag full of knives so that's still good, right?_

After I put the bag down I look at the holster options for the machete I picked out for myself. There's one that would fit the blade to my back, but with my quiver that wouldn't work out too well. I pick out another one that will fit to my leg and begin strapping it against my upper thigh. Once I place the blade in, the tip falling below my knee, I walk a few steps to make sure I can still move comfortably. Satisfied, I zip the bag up and go to the side of the van to open the door leading to the back seats.

I sit on the floor and let my legs dangle out the open door, Daryl just a few steps to my right still up against the van. He remains silent and I follow his lead. _Not like there's anything to talk about anyway._

As the sun starts to sink in the sky, I start to see figures in the distance. "I think that's Shane and the others." Daryl looks up from his crossbow, which he's been tinkering with for the past half hour, to look in the direction I pointed towards.

He pushes off the van, "Ya, the hell's the other guy?" He grips his crossbow tightly, I only notice because I see his muscles tense from the strain.

I yank my eyes away from him and squint to get a better look and, sure enough, there are four people coming this way. They start jogging and soon I am able to recognize three of the people, but there's one guy tagging along that I've never seen before. They all have their hands full with bags, some with a picture of a tent on them. The first thing I notice about the new guy is the red hat he's wearing. I stand, legs shaking slightly, but quickly recover before anyone _(cough, Daryl, cough)_ notices. I put my hand against the van to steady myself as the group finally reaches the van.

Shane and Daryl exchange pleasantries, by which of course I mean Daryl gestures towards the newcomer and asks who "the asian kid" is and Shane tells him to get out of his face. All the while I realize I'm surrounded by testosterone and wait for the inevitable fight to break out and wondering which would win, the tough guy cop or the agile, muscled hunter. _Is this how guys feel when two girls start to bicker at each other?_ I let out a little laugh at the thought and notice the new guy giving me a weird look.

Well Daryl was right about the asian aspect, he looks around my age as well and looks a little freaked out (understandably). I instantly decide he's trustworthy, he doesn't have the face of some secretly evil being, like Ed, so I introduce myself while Daryl and Shane play a game of 'mine's bigger', "Hey, I'm Eve. Who're you?"

He looks at me blankly for a moment before regaining his composure and answering, "I'm Glenn."

After the guys are done with their pissing match, T-Dog begins to stuff everyone's bag in the back of the van. Shane continues to glare at Daryl as Daryl takes his former place in front of me and Glenn sits next to me. He tells me about how he was in the store getting some cans of food when a 'geek' (apparently that's what he calls those things) grabbed at him. Luckily, Shane and the others came in at that moment and helped him. He says that Shane started walking away, but T-Dog mentioned the camp and he asked if he could come. Reluctantly, Shane agreed, after glaring at T-Dog, and they all started bagging up as many groceries as they could fit in the bags before going to a camping supply store and getting as much as they could carry before heading back to the van.

I find myself enjoying his company, he seems nice and easy to get along with. _Pretty much the opposite of Daryl._ Talking to him makes the drive go by a lot faster too. I think I hear Daryl huffing a few times, but write it off as my overactive imagination. I tell him what little information I don't mind revealing about myself, I have no siblings or family, I was going to school for a history major with emphasis on Ancient Greek and Egypt mythology, and I tell him what I can about the camp. When we do pull into camp it's late afternoon and once we stop Daryl bolts out of the van, going straight to his side of camp.

"What's his problem?" Glenn asks as we start unloading the van. Shane is having us put everything in the middle of camp where he starts having people set up tents around. Shane tells us to start putting all the food in the Winnebago that's parked towards the entrance of the camp. I have to admit that Shane barking orders at everyone is actually starting to annoy me. _Who elected him as leader?_ Either way, I stay quiet and help out because no one else is stepping up to lead the group. _I know I definitely won't._

"Him and his brother, Merle, are kind of…different." When he gives me a quizzical glance I continue, "Well Merle is a misogynist and a pervert, while Daryl is, well I'm not too sure about him."

He nods in understanding, "How'd you learn that much about him in just a day?" We load our arms with cans as we make another trip to the RV.

I laugh, "Oh boy, it was an oddly revealing day. _(Pun not intended)_ Just trust me, Merle is is about as subtle as a hammer on a landmine."

He laughs as we set the cans on the counter and he looks at me, "I'll take your word for it."

Stepping out of the RV, we come face to face with Shane. I jump slightly in surprise. He looks to Glenn behind me, "You said you knew the streets in the city pretty well, right?"

Glenn looks at me before looking back to Shane again, "Uhm ya."

"Good. I'm assigning you to do runs into town when we need supplies." _Not even a please?_ He has a hard look on his face, leaving no room to say no. Well for most people, that is. _Why would only Glenn go? Why wouldn't he have someone to back him up?_

Before I realize it, I'm voicing my concerns, "By himself?" I can't help but hear the indignation in my voice. _How can he think it's ok to send Glenn out there by himself? No one should go out there alone. Safety in numbers right?_

Glenn pipes up before Shane can respond, "That's fine, I can get in and out. No problems." He looks between the two of us, but I'm still not ok with people going out there by themselves and Glenn seems the type to just go along with something to prevent any problems from arising.

"I'll still go with you, just for backup. No one should go out there alone." Glenn looks surprised at my offer, while Shane looks annoyed.

"We need help here, too." _By 'help' I'm sure he means doing the laundry or cooking. Which has already been assigned to Lexi and Carol, of course the menial tasks get assigned to the women._ I resist the urge to yell in his face, getting the vibe that he wouldn't stand for that coming from a woman, it's not like it'll do any good anyways.

"I'm sure there's plenty of volunteers to do chores, safety out there is a more important factor. Don't you think?" I can hear the annoyance in my voice, but I don't try to hide it this time. I won't just stay here and do nothing, not when I know I can do more. Maybe I feel the need to redeem myself after today, but I also don't want to see something bad to happen to anyone, not if I can help.

He responds, tight-lipped in frustration, "Of course." Not waiting for another response he walks off. _Probably to go boss someone else around._

"You don't have to go with me, really, it's ok." I turn back towards Glenn, his face lined with worry.

"I want to. Don't worry, I'm tougher than I look." _At least I hope I am._ He looks unsure, probably because I could barely stand when we first met. "Besides, I just really don't want to do laundry."

He laughs while we make our way back to the van. When we see there's no more to unpack we say goodnight and head for bed. Well he goes off in the direction of an empty tent and I grab my bow out of the van, dropping it in the tent Lexi is fast asleep in, and make my way to the rest of camp after making sure my gun is still in my jeans.

I go back to the RV, having the intention to put the cans away instead of just leaving them all over the counter. I've always had trouble sleeping, usually only getting about 6 hours, and it seems that the world ending isn't going to change that. I might as well do something useful if I'm not going to be sleeping. I learned that the owner of the RV is a man named Dale, an older guy who seems exceptionally kindhearted. There were two sisters with him named Amy and Andrea, who seemed nice enough but a little shaken by whatever happened to them out there.

When I get to the RV I see Dale putting the cans away, I knock on the open door to signal my presence. He smiles brightly when he recognizes me, "Oh hey, Evelyn right?"

"Yep, you call me Eve though." I step up into the RV and begin helping him. I notice the door to the bed in the back is closed, so I assume that's where Amy and Andrea sleep.

"With a name like Evelyn, it's a shame to call you anything else." He hands me a can of corn and I put it in the pantry.

"It was my mother's name too, so I would always go by Eve." I remember the first time she called me Eve, I was playing pokémon on my gameboy and showed her my favorite pokémon that I finally managed to catch, Eevee. She laughed and said I was as cute as Eevee was, since then she always called me by that name. I guess it just stuck with me.

He gives me an understanding look, "I lost my wife too, before all this. I would tell you it eventually gets better, but I don't think it does. You just learn to live without them, one way or another." I imagine he looks just as sad as I do right now.

"The only comfort I take now is knowing she wasn't around for this." _Both with what my step-father did and now this._

He nods in agreement, "That's what I was thinking." He hands me another can and we continue to put things away. It's weird talking about my mom with someone other than Lexi. _There's not a day that goes by that I don't miss her._

"Thanks for letting us store the food in here." I know Shane didn't thank him, so I figured someone should.

"Well, I didn't seem to have a choice," he chuckles lightly and I can only guess that Shane pretty much just offered his RV up without asking. "Either way, it's no trouble."

We finish putting everything away in a few minutes, "Well, I'll see ya later. It was good talking to you Dale." _I really mean it too, he's easy to talk to._

"Anytime, Evelyn." He gives me a small smile and I walk out of the RV, saying goodnight as I leave.

I stop suddenly when I notice he small collection of books on a shelf to the side of the door. I look over some titles before my eyes fall on a certain favorite of mine, one my mom used to read to me as a little girl. I pick up his copy of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and run my hand down the familiar cover.

"You must learn some of my philosophy. Think only of the past as its remembrance gives you pleasure." His tone takes on a nostalgic tone and he quotes Elizabeth Bennet. The quote is only fitting at a time like this. "You may have it, I doubt many other people here have any fondness for the classics."

I smile at his offer, "Thank you, really, I always loved this book." He nods his head, smiling kindly at me. I wave my second goodbye and make my way out of the RV.

Not feeling the least bit ready for bed, I decide to walk down to the quarry. As I walk down I see the moon reflect off the water and I'm stunned for a moment by the beauty of it. _How is is possible to still find something so beautiful at a time like this._ When I make it down the path I put my gun and book on one of the rocks and go to sit down as I notice spots of blood on my shirt. I take it off and see dots in the same place on my tank top. Disgusted, I take that off too and walk over to the lake. I start scrubbing at the blood under the water, pleased that it comes off easily. Looking out over the water I get a sudden urge to do something I haven't done since freshmen year when Lexi took me to her parents lake house for spring break. She told me everyone should skinny-dip at least once in their life.

I look around me, seeing if there's anyone else around before taking my knife holster off and slipping out of my jeans as well. I keep my bra and panties on, not feeling the desire to go completely nude. I dunk my jeans in the water a few times to get any dirt off them and place all my clothes against a nearby rock. I take a quick glance around me and, feeling confident that no one is around, I walk into the water. A few minutes in the water makes me relax almost instantly, the feeling of grime and sweat washing off me to be replaced with one of pure joy.

I dunk my head in to rinse my face off and when I open my eyes again I see someone walking down the path. I quickly get out and start putting my clothes on, figuring with my luck it's probably Merle. I'm putting my flannel on when I realize the person is Carol's husband. _Ed, I'm pretty sure. Either way, I remember he gave me the creeps. Still does, especially now._

"Need some comp'ny?" The look Merle gave me this morning is nothing compared the the one covering Ed's face. He's made his way over to stand right in front of me, staring me up and down in a way that makes me want to puke. Unfortunately, that's a look I used to know all too well, courtesy of my step father. Knowing the implications of that look, I glance over to where my gun is and see my knife as well.

"No, not really." I cross my arms over my chest and hope I look intimidating enough for him to leave me alone.

As he stares at my chest, however, I realize there's no chance of that. "It wadnt' really a question." He moves in closer and as I try to get around him he grabs at my wrist, locking me in place.

I feel panic and anger rush trough me, "Let me go now, or you'll regret it later." I try to yank my arm out of his grasp and walk away, but feel a pull at my resistance. As I'm forced to turn back around to face him I feel his hand go across my face. I put my hand against my cheek, the stinging already biting against the feel of my hand. _He hits a lot harder than I'm used to._

"Women ain't suppos'ta make demands, jus' take 'em." He pulls me against him and I feel him start to mess with my shirt, working on the buttons, as I begin to truly loose it. I squirm against him, but when that doesn't do any good I kick at his shin as hard as I can. He manages to waver slightly, but doesn't let me go. He does, however, hit me again, causing me to become dizzy and I fall on the ground. _This isn't good._

"That's better." He cracks an evil smile and I feel dread wash over me.

I use all my anger to bring my knee up against his groin when he tries to get on top of me, I grab my gun and aim it at him, "Touch me again and I won't hesitate to shoot you." I fight past the dizziness I feel, grabbing my knife as I walk away from his pathetic cries.

In my haste to get away, coupled with my wooziness, I manage to run into someone which makes me fall back on my ass. I don't look up as I I will myself not to start crying in frustration. _As if the world ending wasn't bad enough, this day seems to have topped even that._ A hand comes into view, forcing me to look up at the owner, Daryl. I cautiously take his hand and wipe at my butt to get rid of the dirt, "What are you doing here?"

He looks behind me, at Ed, before looking back to me with an eyebrow raised, "Pickin' daises. You?" He crosses his hands over his chest as he takes in my wild appearance.

I feel myself wobble slightly before trying to make my way around Daryl, still very eager to get the hell out of here, "Oh, hum just taking out the trash." I look back at Ed, who seems to be recovering slightly as he's actually standing now and glaring at us. I look back to Daryl, who's staring Ed down, "Well, night."

I stumble my way up the path as I trip over a rock I hadn't noticed, but see Daryl waking along beside me, easily keeping my pace, "D'ya need help?" The way he asks that question with such concern surprises me.

I smile weakly at him, "Thanks, but I'll be fine, nothing I can't handle." I walk off to my tent before he has time to respond, looking back to see him walking towards the woods. _First, he reprimands me in the city and the next, he genuinely acts concerned. I don't get him at all…_ I zip my text up and lay on the sleeping bag laid next to Lexi's motionless form. That night I spent waking at any little noise and rarely slept at all, my grip on my gun never wavering. I had a sinking feeling this would become a more common occurrence in the days to come.

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 **Fun Fact: If one arrow hits another one dead on and then splits it or even becomes embedded inside it, it is known as Robin Hood.**


	4. Chapter 4 - Ignorance is Bliss

_**Authors Note:** I still don't own anything from the Walking Dead, this story is only my creative twist on that wonderful tale the brilliant creators of the show and comic books came up with. I do, however, own my two characters, so Swiper no swiping. (I have a little sister who used to LOVE Dora the explorer:D)_

 _Also, thank you to everyone who has followed and favorited my story, it means a lot to know you're enjoying it!_

 _Special shout out to **Anon** for being the first review! Here's the next chapter, hope you like it._

 _ **P.S.** I know this chapter is a bit short, but a had to cut this and the other one in half or it would have been a super looooonnng chapter. I'm not sure if everyone likes them longer or shorter so I try to keep around the middle at around 4k words, but let me know what you like and I'll adjust it if need be. HAPPY HOLIDAYS to everyone!_

 _-DragonLady_

 _Updated 4-23-2017_

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" **The uninformed must improve their deficit, or die."**

 **\- Cheshire Cat**

 **Chapter 4 - Ignorance is Bliss**

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I walk silently through the forest, carefully maneuvering around dry leaves and twigs. I have my bow held against my side, ready but not in the way. Right now, my main focus is staying quiet so as not to spook the dwindling wildlife. I see a flash of white out of the corner of my left eye and turn my head to look, surprised to find a white rabbit hopping across the forest floor, it's been a couple days since I last saw one. I follow as silently as possible, feeling oddly like Alice running after the rabbit in a waistcoat. The rabbit stops suddenly, pricking its ears up and looking around for the source of some unknown noise. I pull my bow up, notching and drawing an arrow before taking aim. Before I am able to release the arrow, I'm startled by a _thunking_ noise. The rabbit runs off and I look towards the source of the noise, my eyes falling on a squirrel hanging from a tree, a bolt sticking out of its head, holding it in place.

I lower my bow to a relaxed position as I watch Daryl walking out of the tree-line and over to the aforementioned tree. I keep quiet, hoping to avoid any sort of confrontation. The last couple weeks I've been able to basically avoid him, save for a hasty visit from him the morning after the Ed incident in which he threw something at me saying 'ya forgot somethin' and quickly walking away, when I looked at the object I saw it was the book Dale had given me. Needless to say I wanted to avoid anymore awkward meetings between us and in between runs with Glenn and helping out Lexi and Carol around camp, it's been pretty easy to keep my distance from anyone unsavory. _Not that I think Daryl is a bad guy or anything, he just has terrible timing and manages to be around every time I don't want him to be._

My silent hope of invisibility is crushed when he looks right at me, an annoyed expression covering his features as he nonchalantly addresses me, "What'cha doin' out here?"

I don't move from where I'm standing, and neither does he, the squirrel still in his hand, "Same as you, only I was chasing a rabbit." _Does that sound as crazy as I think it does?_

"Hmph, I ain't seen no rabbit 'round here." He gives me an accusatory glance before walking off, back to where he came from.

"I'm not crazy." I say this more to myself, as he's already too far to hear me.

I kick at a small pile of leaves in front of me, frustration forming in the pit of my stomach. _Why do I always get so awkward around him?_ My desire to be in the woods diminishes quickly so I make my way back towards camp, knowing I have to leave soon anyways. I walk swiftly through the forest, thinking about the last couple weeks.

Glenn and I have gotten closer, going on runs nearly every day means we spend most of our time together than apart. We talked about our life before, he was a pizza delivery guy and I told him how I was a bartender three nights a week and a student the rest, in between practicing for archery competitions. The only topic we never brought up was family, which is fine by me. He was highly interested in my skills with my bow, asking me all about it. When did I start? How many times have I won a competition?..etc. He even watched me practicing the morning after he came to camp and admitted he would feel better knowing I was on the runs backing him up. Due to that, he took charge of running in and out of buildings with supplies while I'm there to take care of any Geeks that get too curious. Not to toot my own horn, but I've become a near pro at moving targets, which is why I was trying my luck again at hunting this morning. I thought it would be an easy transition, but boy was I wrong.

Shane has eased up on his demanding attitude a bit, just not with me. I suspect it's due to his tryst with Lori; I only know because I was walking through the forest, trying to find edible mushrooms or berries, when I hear moaning. Thinking it was a Geek, I remained quiet and when I got closer, my bow ready to fire, I saw them together. I snuck away after that, not wanting them to see me spying on them. It's not really my business, but she did only lose her husband a couple weeks ago. _I'm not judging though…a lot._

Lexi has been watching Carl basically every day, while his mom is off doing, well Shane. The times I've talked to him, I can tell he misses his dad. Luckily, he doesn't know what's going on between his mom and Shane or I'm sure he would be even more upset.

Most of the women, including Lexi, generally do all the chores around camp like cleaning, cooking, and laundry. I'll help on days when I'm not on a run, but Ed has been lingering more and more when we do laundry which makes me want to severely hurt him. I think about what he tried to do to me and can only imagine how he treats his own family. _Poor Carol and Sophia._ That's probably the only reason I stomach sticking around to do laundry, to make sure he doesn't try anything with anyone else.

The Dixon's, well they're the same. Merle makes a lewd or racist comments daily, propositions me for sex every time he sees me, and acts like we would all be dead without him. _Only, Daryl is the one who actually hunts_. I rarely see Daryl around camp while his brother is always seen. Merle mostly just cleans and skins whatever Daryl brings back, but they both do that. Merle just likes to think he's indispensable, but I know it's Daryl who holds real value in this group. _Not like he would ever believe that himself._

Most of the other people I've met here treat this as an ordinary camping trip, with a bunch of strangers, they do their tasks and mingle with the other survivors completely unaware or unwilling to know how bad it is outside the quarry. Sometimes I find them all infuriating in their ignorance, but then I realize that's their way of dealing with this situation. Eventually, however, they need to tough it up if they want to survive. I have this thought most often when I find myself talking to Dale, Amy, and Andrea. Dale is the kindest person in this camp, but he also knows how to use that rifle he's always carrying. He stays on the top of his RV to keep watch because he knows there is a possibility this place isn't as safe as everyone wants it to be. Amy and Andrea, however, strike me as clueless. That's not to say that I don't like them, sure Andrea seems bitchy at time, but I'm like that at times too. As people, they're very nice, but as long term survivors I'm just unsure about them. _Is that bad to say?_

I'm snapped out of my thoughts as I hear raised voices in the distance. I quicken my pace to see what's going on, my heart pounding with the possibilities. _Why would people be arguing? Did something happen, did Geeks make it up here finally?_ As I come through the clearing, ready to go all Scarface, when I see Glenn and Shane as the source of the arguing, I relax slightly, carefully walking over to figure out what's going on.

"…something bad happens, I'll be responsible!" Glenn looks frustrated and stressed.

"They volunteered, they know the risks." Shane is calm, the opposite of Glenn. His tone upsets me, even though I'm not entirely sure what he's talking about.

I find myself unable to just observe, "The risks of what?" I place my bow over my shoulder, the string across my chest. After the first run, when I questioned his leadership, Shane has always looked at me like I'm the plague.

He looks at me, hand on his hip and shotgun slug over his shoulder, "The risks of going in the city." I just stare at him, at first not realizing what he's saying. _Why would anyone else be going into the city? Oh god, he doesn't want us to take more people, does he? That does explain what Glenn was saying, though, but that seems reckless. We get plenty of stuff with just us two, why send more people now?_

"He wants us to take a group into the city." Glenn gives me a look, one that says 'tell him how stupid that is.'

"Why? We bring back enough with just us two." I know, however, that there's no way I'm changing Shane's mind on this. It's either his way, or get the hell out, especially with me.

"We need a good stockpile of food, something that will last us if something happened to either of you." He looks directly at me as he says this. _Well thanks for that confidence boost._

Not waning to cause any bigger of a scene, I acquiesce, "Fine, who's going." I shoot a glance over to Glenn, willing him to see that we didn't have much of a choice in the first place.

Shane gives me a smirk, one I want to slap off his face, "Andrea, Morales, Jacqui, T-Dog, and Merle. They're all ready and waiting, whenever you're ready to go."

 _Great, Merle is going, this'll be fun._ "Come on Glenn, let's go." I grab his arm, dragging him away from Shane. I can tell he's still frustrated, "He wasn't going to budge on this one." I shake my head at Shane's arrogance, "Let's just go and get this day over with, what's the worst that can happen?"

He gapes at me, "Why would you say that? You just jinxed us for sure, dumbass." I push him lightly, mirroring his smile.

We get to the RV, meeting the group of people who we'll be taking on the run. After figuring out what kind of skills everyone has, none have much skill with guns, but Andrea pulls out a S&W 3913 Ladysmith saying it's hers. _So she has a gun, but can't use it, that'll really help._

I look at Andrea, a serious note in my voice, "Don't use it unless you have to." _And by that I mean, not at all._ If you don't know how to use a gun then you shouldn't own one in the first place.

Merle comes over at the last minute with a Winchester 30-06 in his hands, a shit eating grin on his face as he looks between Andrea and me. "Up for a three-way? Long as that don' make ya jealous Red."

I refrain from making a retort, however, am unable to hide the look of pure disgust as we load up the van and pile in; T-Dog drives with Morales in the front seat, Andrea, Jacqui, and Merle in the middle, while Glenn and I are in the back.

We try to talk strategy, whispering so no one hears us. Glenn begins, "We'll go to the department store, the one we get clothes from and let everyone stay there. We'll have that as home base while I'm off searching any building we haven't cleaned out yet."

"By yourself? What, exactly, am I supposed to do, babysit?" I've always admired Glenn's ability to strategize. He always makes sure we have a plan and a backup every run we would go on, just in case something went wrong, though it never did. I look ahead of us to make sure no one is listening to us, and luckily, Merle seems too busy harassing Andrea for either of them to notice and Jacqui is talking to Morales and T-Dog, so they are preoccupied as well.

"Actually, yes, basically." He raises his hands slightly in a non-threatening manner when he notices the deep scowl on my face as I turn my head to face him, "Just keep them busy at the store, we both know they could get hurt or get us hurt. If I just go in and out then I'll figure out where it's worth actually taking them with us."

I continue to glare at him, but realize he has a point, "Fine, but I don't like this. If you get hurt, then I'll kill you!" He nods his head knowingly, a ghost of a smile tugging on his lips.

Glenn gives T-Dog the directions as we get closer to the department store, we park a ways off behind some other building to go on foot after that. Glenn has on his green backpack and I have a small duffle. We all remain quiet until we get inside the department store. Merle walks off to the stairs, claiming he'll keep watch while Glenn and I check our walkies. We found them on one of our runs and have had them to keep in contact with each other in case we ever got separated on a run. After that Glenn tells everyone he'll go ahead and see if there is anything worth taking in other buildings. No one protests, so he gives me a nod before ducking out the door leading to an alleyway.

"Ok, just go around and pack anything we could use. Also stay away from the front, that way the Geeks won't spot you walking by. If you need help, just holler and someone will come help you." They all nod at me before walking off, looking in various areas of the store for anything we can use. I start to do the same, packing a few clothes that would fit Lexi and I into my duffle. I notice Morales and T-Dog putting on protective gear while I make my way to the back of the store. I rummage through the boxes in the back, stuff they hadn't unloaded yet, and manage to find a few things to pack away as well.

I stop when I hear gun shots, panic rising in my stomach when I realize Glenn should have made contact by now. _Why isn't he back yet? He hasn't even said anything over the walkie._ My mind starts racing, thinking of what might have happened to him. _What if he got bit, or fell and needs help?_ I try to think of some places he might have gone, trying to work out a plan to save him.

I don't know how long I'm like that, but I soon notice everyone is making their way to me. Andrea is the closest to me, "How long are we supposed to wait? Those things are banging against the door."

I stop moving and put my hands on my hips, "Until he comes back."

"And if he doesn't?" She crosses her arms over her chest.

I glare at her, but am unable to respond as the walkie goes off, Glenn's voice coming over the speaker in a rushed tone, "I'm back, got a guest, plus four Geeks in the alley."

My eyes go wide and I point to T-Dog and Morales who are carrying baseball bats and are pretty much fully covered in the protective gear, "Come with me, stay close and aim for the head."

I open the door to the alley, the one Glenn originally went thorough and see two geeks straight ahead, motioning for T-Dog and Morales to take care of them while I fire at the two just to my left. I quickly run to retrieve my arrows and start back just as Glenn and, a sheriff?, enter the building. Morales and T-Dog are still beating the heads of the Geeks until I call them over, "Let's go!"

After the door is closed I see Andrea push the new guy against the boxes I was going through, gun aimed at his face, "Son of a bitch, I 'aught to kill you." I make my way over to Glenn, hugging him now that I know he's safe. He tells me he saved this guy from a tank, promising he'll tell me about it later before focusing on the scene unfolding before us.

T-Dog and Morales start taking their gear off, starting with the helmets. Morales looks right at Andrea, "Just chill out Andrea, back off."

When Andrea makes no move, Jacqui pipes up next, "Come on, ease up."

"Ease up, you're kidding me, right? We're dead because of this stupid asshole." _And what gives you the right to decide who lives and dies?_

Morales comes up behind Andrea, "Andrea, I said back the hell off." Not able to just sit by idly, I move so I'm directly on her left side. I figure if things escalate any more, I can just tackle her to prevent her from killing whoever this guy is. Once I have a view of her gun, however, I relax because I can see she has the safety on. _That's why you should know how to use a gun before carrying it around._ Morales continues once I've stopped, "Or pull the trigger."

Finally, she puts the gun down, "We're dead, all of us." Her face becomes sad, almost like she's about to cry, as she looks at the new guy, "Because of you."

I finally take a look at the new guy, he's in a sheriff's uniform and has curly brown hair and blue eyes. He looks bewildered, "I don't understand."

Morales grabs him by the arm and begins leading him toward the hallway that take you to the store, "Look, we came to the city to scavenge supplies. You know what the key to scavenging is, surviving." We make it to the store in a group, coming up to the front doors, "You know what the key to surviving is? Sneaking in and out, tiptoeing, not shooting up the streets like it's the O.K. Corral."

Not having noticed how many were at the doors, my breath hitches as I see every space against the glass filled by a Geek, pushing against each other to try to get inside.

T-Dog continues the lecture to the new guy, "Every Geek for miles around heard you popping off rounds."

"You just rang the dinner bell." Andrea adds bitterly.

"Got the picture now?" Morales finishes.

I watch as one of the Geeks, a rock in its hand, starts banging against the glass, breaking slightly in the process. "Look, there's nothing we can do about it now except figure a way out before they break those doors down." I look around at everyone, trying to get my point across. Everyone backs away in fear as the rock continues to hit against the glass.

"The hell were you doing out there anyway?" Andrea seems to have calmed down, finally.

"Trying to flag the helicopter." The new guy responds. _Is he serious or just high?_

"Helicopter?" T-Dog sarcastically replies, "Man, that's crap, man, there ain't no damn helicopter." I roll my eyes at the many grammatical errors in that one sentence. _Does no one pay attention in Elementary english?_

"You were chasing a hallucination. Imagining things, it happens." Jacqui talks to him like a psychologist would a patient.

The new guy looks seriously at us all, "I saw it."

Morales, who was looking at the front, now turns to me for a moment, "Hey, Eve. Try that CV, can you contact the others?" I start fiddling with the controls, trying to get in contact with our camp. _Not like it'll do any good, Shane wouldn't send anyone to help._

Out of the corner of my eye, I see the officer perk up at the mention of others, "Others? The refugee center?" I almost laugh, but remain quiet. Not getting anything on the radio I pass the thing to T-Dog, asking him to give it a try.

Jacqui laughs dryly, "Yeah the refugee center, they got biscuits waiting in the oven for us."

T-Dog, who was messing with the radio, get the same result as I was, "Got no signal. Maybe the roof?"

Suddenly, we hear another shot ring out and the first thought I have is of Merle. _That complete idiot! He's only making it worse!_ "Goddamnit Merle!" I curse, just as Andrea finishes, "Oh no, is that Dixon?"

I hear the muttered reply of 'get to the roof', looking over at Glenn as he ushers the officer and me, "Come on, let's go." We are start running up the stairs, and I'm thankful for the cardio I've been doing during the runs as we climb to the roof, intermittent shots ringing as we make out assent. _He better be actually hitting them if he's going to be this idiotic about it!_

Morales is the first to make it to the roof, bursting out the door yelling at Merle, "Hey Dixon, are you crazy?!"

Merle laughs sadistically, continuing to shoot as everyone piles out go the stairwell, Glenn and the officer exiting right after me. He turns around, the gun still in his hand, "Huh, hey, you 'aught to be more polite to a man with a gun." He grunts slightly as he jumps off the ledge, "Only common sense." He continues, ejecting the empty shell in the chamber before loading another round.

T-Dog, foolishly, jumps off the walkway and makes his way towards Merle, "Man, you wastin' bullets we ain't even got, man. And you bring them all down here on our ass, man. Just chill." _T-Dog is in way over his head, going up against Merle is going to end badly. Does no one but me realize that? Not only does he have way too much anger, but the pills and whatever else I see him popping make him more likely to snap at any moment._

As I watch Merle's face, I know something's about to go down. Knowing him, he won't take this much crap from both Morales and T-Dog. As the three of them continue talking, I try to make my way behind him, thinking of the same tactic I was planning on doing with Andrea. If anything goes south, I might be able to distract him long enough. _Besides, he wouldn't hurt a girl, would he?_

"Hey, bad enough I got this taco vender on my ass all day, now Im'a take orders from you? I don't think so bro." I watch as Merle gets closer to T-Dog, the grip on his gun tightening, "That'll be the day." At that I realize Merle is baiting him, wanting to start a fight. That's when I notice that everyone has gathered around the scene, probably wondering the same thing I am; _who's going to kick whom's ass?_

T-Dog takes the bait, "That'll be the day. You got somethin' you want to tell me."

Trying to defuse the situation, Morales steps up, "Hey T-Dog, man, just leave it."

T-Dog holds his hand out to Morales, "No." He looks back to Merle. _Don't be stupid, just drop it! Someone like him will never change._ I think, for a moment, about his brother and wonder if he's like this as well. How similar are the two Dixon's? _I hope Daryl is nothing like this._

Morales keeps trying as I stop directly behind Merle and put my bow and quiver on the ground, not wanting anything to happen to them, "Alright, it ain't worth it. Now, Merle, just relax." I can't see Merle's face, but with his arms tensing as he grips his gun, I can tell he's definitely not relaxing. "Ok? We got enough trouble." _There is an endless supply of trouble, especially in times such as these._

I take a quick glance at Glenn as he motions with his hands for me to chill, before doing the same to the officer. _That sure as heck isn't going to stop me. I've met people like him before, once they start it's hard for them to stop. I just want to make sure no one gets badly hurt in the process._

Merle doesn't back down, "You wanna know the day?"

I silently beg T-Dog to just walk away. Unfortunately, he doesn't, "Ya."

"I'll tell you the day, Mr. Yo," he makes the stereotypical hand gesture, "Is the day I take orders from a nigger." I find myself getting angry at his words, such hate and ignorance should no longer be an issue. There's only so many people left in this world and we all need to stick together.

T-Dog gets a wild look on his face, "Motherfucker!" He tries to punch Merle, but Merle blocks and uppercuts him with the butt of his rifle.

After that, everyone starts screaming for him to stop. The officer even tries to help, but Merle sends him flying with a punch before he can even do anything. There's more screaming as Merle continues to beat up T-Dog. Luckily, no one else is stupid enough to jump in, meaning no one else is getting hurt.

I think for a second about whether or not I should jump in, but quickly shake it off and start running straight at Merle's back. I jump on him and attempt to chokehold him into passing out. I didn't know if I would actually be able to do it, but I definitely wasn't expecting him to reach his arm out to the side, punch my right side, and throw me against a huge pipe. My right side once again takes the impact while my head hits the top of the pipe and I feel the air escape my lungs while I start seeing black spots cloud my vision. I can tell there's someone talking, but it's too muffled for me to make out what's being said. I try to stay alert, but find myself slipping in and out of consciousness. I let the darkness consume me for a few moments, my head pounding something awful and my side burning.

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 **Fun Fact: Robert Kirkman made a conscious decision to avoid the word 'zombie' as he wanted to portray a world where zombie movies didn't exist so that his characters had no concept of what they were facing.**


	5. Chapter 5 - Guts and Glory

_**Author's note:**_ _Thank you_ _galwidanatitud_ _, my second reviewer! Have I ever told you guys how much I love reading reviews? Well, I do, so thank you very much for taking the time to make my day!_

 _Happy Christmas to everyone and Happy Holidays as well! I will probably be writing a few chapters before actually posting them, that way I'm always ahead. So I probably won't be updating until next year, but don't worry I will update asap._

 _This chapter is starting with Lexi's POV, I wanted to get more into her character as well. I have big plans for her as well (wink wink) so stay tuned. As always, hope you enjoy!_

 _-DragonLady_

 _Updated 4-23-2016_

* * *

" _ **Life moves on, can't stay the same**_

 _ **For some of us, I'm worried..."**_

 _ **Avenged Sevenfold - Until the End**_

 **Chapter 5 - Guts and Glory**

* * *

 **Lexi's POV**

I wipe the sweat from my forehead as I continue to walk through the forest. I push a strand of dirty blonde hair sticking to the side of my face behind my ear. Even though my hair is up in a ponytail, my layers continue to fall out, making me regret them for the first time. The hot, sticky weather making me think about having someone cut it all off. The bucket in my hand moves slightly as I walk, the berries and mushrooms clanging softly against the side as they roll around. I look over at Amy, who's walking beside me, "They are going to be fine."

She gives me a small smile, "I know you're right, I just can't help but to worry." Andrea, her older sister, and her haven't been apart since the world fell apart. I feel a tugging at my heart as I think about my family. I just wish I could know for sure if they were alive or not, the fact that I don't know is what hurts the most.

I clear my head of these thoughts, not wanting to start crying again. "So, how do we know if they're poisonous or not?" We were sent out to look for anything edible, berries or mushrooms. I managed upon a blueberry plant and we found some mushrooms, but we don't know for sure whether we can actually eat them or not.

She shrugs her shoulders at me, "I was going to ask Lori."

"Good idea. Ready to head back?" She takes a look in her bucket before nodding and we start walking back to camp.

When we get back to camp, we make a beeline to Lori. She's by the fire pit and when she sees us she asks if we had any luck.

We bring over buckets and dump the contents into a bowl in her outstretched hand. Amy speaks to her first, "How do we tell if they're poison?"

Lori looks at the mushrooms, "Uh, there's only one sure way I know of."

I raise my brows, "Eat them?"

Amy looks dubious, "Ask Shane when he gets back?"

"Ya, you got it. Lexi, do you mind watching Carl? I want to see if I can find anything as well." She gives me a hopeful look, though I know she's actually going off to meet Shane, who's off 'scouting' the permitter. Eve told me she saw them together one day.

I smile, keeping my face from showing any signs that I know she's lying, "Of course not, I was going to start lessons soon anyway." Even though I never got my teaching degree, upon hearing I was in my final year, Carol and Lori begged me to start teaching what I could to the kids. They wanted there to be some semblance of normalcy in their lives and it gives them, and me, something to do.

She stands, walking away towards the RV slightly before yelling up at Dale, "Dale, I'm heading out." She looks over at Carl, who's playing with his toy cars, "Sweetheart, I want you to listen to Lexi while I'm gone, and stay where Dale can see you, ok?"

"Yes, mom." I barely hear his small voice coming from the other side of the car blocking me from his view.

Dale shouts back to Lori about not going to far as well, and shouting if she needs help. I make my way over to Carl, who looks sadly after his mother. Being with him practically every day, he's told me how much he misses his father and even thinks his mom has changed, like she's pulling away from him. For such a young kid to say that, it makes me sad. Lori has been through a lot and doesn't know how to deal with it, but it's upsetting that she doesn't make enough time for Carl.

I kneel down to his level, "Ready to practice more cursive? Or would you rather do math today?"

I watch as he squints his eyes, trying to decide, "Cursive, math makes my head hurt."

I laugh, "Mine too." He smiles and I put out my hand for him, he sets his cars down and places his hand in mine. "Let's go get the others." He nods and we set off to get Sophia, Eliza, and Louis. I wonder briefly how Eve is doing, hoping everything is going ok.

* * *

 **Evelyn's POV**

I feel a hand on my shoulder and look over at Glenn, his face covered with worry. I try to nod my head, signaling I'm fine, but feel it just flop down as my body leans towards him. I attempt to keep my breathing steady, willing my head to stop spinning. I can't focus fully on what's happening around me, though I hear talking. I start coming to right as the officer hits Merle with his own gun. _Finally!_ Merle hits the ground and the officer puts a cuff around his wrist and the other around some piping. I feel no sympathy for Merle, knowing he put himself in this predicament.

The officer pulls Merle into a sitting position, "Who the hell are you man?" I can see Merle's face in red with anger as I'm directly across him.

The officer gets in his face, "Officer Friendly." I try to laugh at his comment, but it just turns into a coughing fit, I'm barely able to make out what Officer Friendly says next as I practically hack up a lung, "Look here, Merle. Things are different now. There are no niggers anymore, no dumb as shit in-bread white trash fools either. Only dark meat and white meat. It's us and the dead. We survive this by pulling together, not apart."

"Screw you man." I hold my side in pain, glaring at him in resentment. _Didn't anyone ever tell you it's not polite to hit a girl?_

"I can see you make a habit of missing the point." He continues to stare Merle down.

"Ya, well screw you twice." _Very mature, asshat._

Officer Friendly then pulls a handgun on Merle, "You 'aught to be polite to a man with a gun, only common sense." He throws his own words back in his face.

Merle shows no fear, or maybe that's just stupidity, "You wouldn't, you're a cop." _No one is what they used to be anymore, everything's changed._

"All I am anymore is a man looking for his wife and son. Anybody gets in the way of that, is gunna lose. I'l give you a moment to think about that." He reaches in Merle's pocket and pulls out a small tube, then flicks his nose, "Got some on your nose there."

"What are ya gunna do, arrest me?!" He laughs before noticing where the officer is heading, he begins tell yell about his stuff. _I should have figured he was on something, sound have been obvious._ "Hey, if I get loose you better pray! You hear me, you pig? You hear me?"

Not wanting to be in Merle's presence any longer, I attempt to stand, with the help of Glenn. I feel slightly woozy, but start walking anyway. _Walk it off, honey!_

"What were you thinking?!" Glenn shout-whispers at me. As I look at him, I can see how worried he looks. I'm not used to seeing anyone but Lexi worry about me.

"I just wanted to try and help, I didn't really have time to think." He leads me to the metal stairs and sits down with me there, handing me a bottle of water, which I eagerly start drinking. It helps ease the dizziness so I give the rest to Glenn, who slides it in his backpack before messing with his walkie as T-Dog continues to mess with mine.

Morales and the officer walk over towards us, the officer joins Andrea and Jacqui against the wall as Morales heads towards T-Dog, "How's that signal?"

Static can be heard as T-Dog messes with the controls, "Like Dixon's brain, weak."

I look over at Merle, who's flipping T-Dog off, while Morales urges T-Dog to keep trying for camp. Just as I had thought earlier, Andrea voices my opinion, "Why? There's nothing they can do. Not a damn thing."

I turn towards Glenn, eager to hear more about the officer, "So, a tank, huh?"

He stops messing with the radio and looks at me, "Yep, came riding into town on a horse. The Geeks got to the horse, but that dumbass managed to get into a nearby tank. I know if I was ever in that situation I would hope someone would help me, so I helped him out of there." _Poor horse._

I smirk at him, "How heroic of you." He fake laughs at my teasing, "What's his name?"

"Rick, or Deputy Dumbass." He smiles, making me laugh with his nickname. That's one of the best things about him so far, even through all this he manages to make me laugh. "How are you feeling?"

I take a deep breath, "Feels like I just got back from a rave after getting hit by a semi, but I'll be fine." I give him a weak smile.

"Hey Glenn," Morales cuts in, "check the alley. See any manhole covers?" I stand up, watching as Glenn runs to the other side of the roof. I take the opportunity to walk over to my bow and quiver, quickly collecting them before going back to my original spot.

"No, must be all out on the street where the Geeks are." He stops right next to me.

"Maybe not," Jacqui speaks up, "Old building like this built in the 20's, big structures often had drainage tunnels into the sewers in case of flooding. Down in the subbasements." _I'm pretty sure that's the most I've ever heard her say at once._

Glenn looks questionably at her, "How do you know that?"

"It's my job, was. I worked in the city zoning office." _Well that would sure explain that burst of normally useless information._

Rick makes his way towards the stairwell, everyone but T-Dog and Merle (obviously) following, grabbing flashlights on the way. Making my way down the stairs, I'm surprised I don't find myself getting dizzy, but I'm starting to feel the soreness from being tossed against that pipe, I hold my side in any effort to minimize the pain. _That'll definitely leave a nasty bruise tomorrow._ Rick asks Glenn if he's ever seen anything that might lead down to the sewers and Glenn says he might have an idea of where it is.

When we reach the bottom of the stairs, Glenn leads the way to a dark room. Everyone turns their flashlight on and we stand around a tunnel that leads down. We try to illuminate the tunnels, but it makes almost no difference. _It looks like one of those scary movie scenes where people foolishly go into and end up dying. The power of positive thinking, huh?_

I clear my head of those ominous thoughts as Morales questions whether this is really it, to which Glenn replies, "I've really scoped this place out the other times Eve and I have been here, it's the only thing in this building that goes down. But I've never gone down it, who'd want to, right?"

 _Oh boy, you just jinxed yourself. Now who's the dumbass._ Everyone immediately looks at him, expectantly. His face falls as he realizes the implications, "Oh. Great."

Andrea looks at him, "We'll be right behind you." I look at her, wondering what good all of us will do down there.

"No you won't. Not you." I find myself wanting to laugh at his reaction, but stop myself as she's right beside me. I feel her tense up, indignation written all over her face.

"Why not me?" _Because you have no idea what you're doing._ "Think I can't?" _Uhh, ya pretty much._ I glare at her, not liking her rude tone.

Glenn mumbles after the overly defensive tone of her voice, but Rick encourages him to speak his mind. "Look, until now, it's just been Eve and I. In and out, grab a few things, no problem. First time we bring a group, everything goes to hell. No offense. If you want me to go down this drainage hole, fine. But only if we do it my way." _You tell them._ "It's tight down there, if I run into something I have to get out quick. I don't want you all jammed up behind me getting me killed. I'll take one person." Rick steps forward slightly, but Glenn shoots him down quick, "Not you either. You've got Merle's gun and I've seen you shoot, I'ld feel better if you're out in that store watching those doors, covering our ass." He looks between Andrea and I, "You two have the only other guns, so you both should go with him." I nod my head as he points at Morales, "You be my wingman. Jacqui stays here, something happens, yell down to us, get us back up here in a hurry."

Jacqui says ok, Rick pats Glenn on the shoulder, "Ok, everybody knows their jobs."

I watch as he gives me a nod, puts his flashlight in his mouth, and makes his way down to the tunnel before turning around and going back to the front of the store, Rick and Andrea following closely behind me. I hear as she apologizes, half-assed, for the gun in his face, to which he responds that she should take the safety of her gun off. I can't help as the laugh escapes this time. Luckily, with the Geeks pounding on the door, I doubt she even hear me.

I pace around the store, testing my movement with my bow, I find it difficult to fully draw an arrow. I lift up my shirt to find a massive bruise forming on the side where I was hit. _It'll probably be even worse tomorrow._ I test it a few more times, seeing if I would be able to work through the pain biting my side as I draw an arrow, but I just end up putting it across my back in favor of my gun. I cock it, ensuring there's a round in the chamber and the safety is actually off before putting it in my front waistband, for easy access.

I make my way over to Rick and Andrea just as we see the glass break on the first set of doors, I pull my gun out and follow behind Rick as he goes closer to the doors, ready to back him up. I notice Morales run up to Rick's side, Jacqui and Glenn coming up a few seconds later. Morales breaks the news that there isn't a way out and Andrea ominously states our need to find a way out, and soon. _Way to state the obvious._

They all start heading for the roof, but with my side I decide to stay where I am, not eating to run up and down the stairs any longer. Glenn pauses, but I wave him away. Leaning up against the display case, I watch the Geeks continue to bang on the door, hoping we find a way out of here before they crash through. I feel a sharp pain in my side and turn around, placing my arms against the glass and hunching over. I take deep breaths and wait for the pain to subside. I open my eyes and see my reflection staring back at me, surprised at how different I look. My once bright green eyes looks dull and empty and my usually vibrant and healthy strawberry blonde hair is wavy and frizzy. In a ponytail it still hangs over my shoulder, but with the lack of washing and conditioning it's become unruly, making me look wild.

I'm pulled away from my self assessment as everyone comes into the store again, hopefully with a plan of action to get us the hell out of here. Glenn is shaking his head as he follows Rick to an area of the store away from me. I follow, curious to know what they have planned.

Rick is picking out rubber gloves as Glenn looks hesitantly at him, "If bad ideas were an olympic event, this would take the gold." Rick hands everyone a pair of gloves, including me, before going over to a rack with trench coats.

Morales walks over to him, "He's right, just stop, ok? Take some time to think this through." _What's this fucking plan that's got everyone so worked up? If it'll get us out, then it's gotta be better than nothing, right?_

"How much time? They already got though one set of doors, that glass won't hold forever." He tosses the coats at us as well, a determined look on his face. As he makes his way to the helmet section of the store, I go up to Glenn and demand an explanation.

"He wants to disguise him and I as walkers so we can make it to a van. If we smell like them, then he thinks we'll be fine. So we're going to take the ones in the alley and cover ourselves in them so we smell dead." Glenn looks uncertain as Rick ushers us to the back room. _That is a pretty crazy plan, maybe crazy enough to actually work though._

When we make it to the room, Rick has us wait as Morales and him go to the alley to get the walkers. Glenn and Andrea open the door, ready to provide cover as they drag the bodies into the room. We all gather around the bodies, forming a circle as Rick smashes the glass, getting the axe left in case of fires. We all stare at the bodies, unsure about what we're about to do. _I just hope it works._

Rick is about to take a swing, when he stops and starts searching the body. He tells us about Wayne, what he finds from his wallet. _His way of coping, I suppose._ I let out a chuckle as Glenn informs us he was also an organ donor. _How ironic._ Rick begins dismembering the body, hacking away through the screams and moans of protest. Then, we all begin covering Rick and Glenn in the foul smelling blood and guts of poor Wayne. I mouth sorry as I rub some on Glenn's chest, he gives me sideways smile.

Rick tells him to think of something else, "Puppies and kittens."

"Dead puppies and kittens." T-Dog comments. I elbow him, glaring when Glenn begins throwing up. _That was incredibly unnecessary._

"That is just evil, what is wrong with you?" For once, Andrea and I have something in common.

"Next time let the cracker beat his ass." Jacqui adds.

T-Dog gets a remorseful look on his face as I start rubbing Glenn's back soothingly with my bloodied glove hand. "I'm sorry."

Glenn is still hunched over, but no longer puking. His voice comes out raspy, "You suck."

"Do we smell like them?" Even Rick has a slightly weary look on his face.

Andrea answers, "Oh yeah." She then takes her glove off and gets her gun, going over to Glenn, "Glenn, just in case." She pulls aside his coat and puts the gun in the front waistband of his jeans.

"If we make it back, be ready." Rick adds ominously.

"You'll make it back." I add in, looking at both Rick and Glenn.

"What about Merle Dixon?" Rick reaches in his pocket and tosses T-Dog the key.

Rick then asks for the ax, stating they need more guts. I try not to laugh at the irony, thinking they have plenty of guts to carry out this plan.

"No guts, no glory. Right?" I smirk over at Glenn, who glares at me. Clearly not finding that as amusing as I did.

Completely covered in blood, guts, and body parts, they set off. Everyone else runs up to the roof, but I once again stay in the store. I go towards the front, trying to watch. I catch small glimpses of Glenn's hat, but other than that I don't see much. I go over to the display case and lean against it. _Now, we wait._

I lean there for a few minutes, the Geeks pounding on the door, before I start hear thunder. _Oh shit._ I walk closer towards the doors, looking at the shy as it turns grey with rainclouds. Suddenly, it begins to rain and all I can think of is the mob of Geeks those two are surrounded by. _Please let them be ok._ My heart start pounding harder when I hear gunshots echoing through the streets. I start pacing in front of the doors, ignoring the Geeks as my mind races. _Are they ok? Did they make it? What do we do now?_

I'm interrupted, however, as Morales comes running into view, "Let's go!"

 _Oh, thank god!_ They actually made it. I go over to the display and pick up my duffle, ignoring the screaming in my side as I fling it over my shoulder. I quickly scan the area, making sure I didn't leave anything valuable behind. Satisfied, I run after the others as the glass begins breaking on the final set of doors. _Cutting it a bit close, aren't we?_ We make it to the loading area and all of us put our hands on the chain, ready to pull when necessary.

As we stand there, I hear the sound of a car alarm as it makes its way towards us. Morales shushes us and Andrea asks what the noise is.

"It's a car alarm." I answer as I hear the rumble of an engine, "Guess they stole a car too." We keep quiet, waiting for a signal.

As we wait, I faintly begin to hear T-Dog's voice, but can't understand what he says. He makes into the room we're in and looks breathless and scared, yelling that we need to go. When we hear a beating against the metal, we rush to open the door. We see Rick in the back of the vehicle, holding his hands out as we start throwing bags at him. He goes to the front and I jump into the back after with the others after throwing my bow ahead of me, getting in just as the gang of Geeks comes through the doorway. Morales closes the back and we all sit for a moment, catching our breath.

As I look around I notice the absence of Merle and Glenn, and as everyone else is looking I figure they notice the same thing. I figure Glenn was the source of the car alarm noise, but am curious as to what happened to Merle.

I look at T-Dog, who had the key. "I dropped the damn key." We all stay quiet, not sure what to say. _Well, Daryl isn't going to be very happy._

"Where's Glenn?" Andrea looks at Rick.

Rick smiles, "He's in a Challenger. We used it as a diversion, trying to get the walkers away from the store."

"I bet he's having some fun with it right about now." I comment as I pull up my shirt, taking a look at my right side, where a large bruise is starting to form.

I notice Andrea looking, her eyes going wide at she looks at it, "Merle did that?"

I nod my head, wishing I had an ice pack right about now. I notice some swelling, but luckily I am able to breath just fine. _I just hope I'll still be able to use my bow, I don't want to have to rely solely on my gun._ I put my shirt back down, knowing there's nothing I can do about it now.

We all sit in silence for a few minutes before Morales looks over at Rick, "Best not on it, Merle gettin' left behind. Nobody's going to be sad he didn't come back." I look over at Morales, thinking _Daryl will be very sad,_ just as he corrects, "Except, maybe Daryl."

Rick looks confused, "Daryl?" I start to hear the faint noise of a car alarm, wondering if it's Glenn in the Challenger.

"His brother." Morales leans forward, looking out the mirror.

I stand, albeit shakily, and look out the windshield as an orange Challenger drives by, Glenn's fist out the window as he screams joyously. I smile, secretly hoping I'll get a turn as well.

"At least somebody is having a good day." Morales adds wearily.

"We're still alive, means it's a good day." I add, hoping to cheer him up. _It could have been worse, we all could have died._ I think about Merle, sure he was an asshole, but no one deserves to die like that; chained to a roof and unable to fight. _Daryl is going to hate us all._

I sit back down, next to Jacqui, and just listen to Morales as he gives Rick directions to our camp. Once we get close to camp, I hear the car alarms as it echoes off the mountains. I stand between Morales and Rick again, trying to get a better look. _That could potentially be an issue._ It stops abruptly, just before we pull into the entrance of camp. I see Glenn by the car, Amy and Lexi next to each other and everyone else pretty close to the Challenger.

Morales pats Rick on the chest, "Come meet everybody." He gets out and goes straight towards his family. His kids running up to him as he gets close.

Andrea eagerly opens the back of the van and runs towards her sister, Amy's relief evident on her face.

Rick is rubbing the bridge of his nose, he looks tense and upset. "You'll find them." He looks at me wearily, "I'll help you." I give him a reassuring smile before grabbing my bow from the back and getting out of the van. I walk over to Lexi, giving her a hug, carefully keeping my right side turned away from her. The last thing I want her to know is how badly I got hurt.

I notice Lori kneeling down with Carl, a sad look covering their faces. Lexi notices my gaze, "He thinks his dad will come find them." She looks heartbroken, much like I'm sure Carl is. I know what it's like to loose a parent, but can't imagine what it's like in the middle of all this as well.

"How'd y'all get outta there anyway?" I look over at Shane, his brow raised. _No thanks to you._

I keep silent, knowing there's nothing good I have to say to him. "New guy, got us out." Glenn answers.

Shane looks utterly lost, "New guy?"

"Yeah, crazy vato just got into town. Hey, helicopter boy. Come say hello." Morales explains, "Guys a cop, like you."

Shane walks forward, trying to get a better look at Rick who's finally come out of the van to meet everyone. I watch as Shane's face changes from shock to recognition, equalling the look on Rick's face. _Shane knows Rick? Rick knows Shane?_

Rick then looks past Lexi and I, lifting his hand up in disbelief. I look behind me, at Carl and Lori. Carl has a face of unadulterated joy as he runs towards Rick yelling 'dad.' I watch the exchange, my heart pattering away. The love that comes from the two brings tears to my eyes. _He found his family after all._ Then I think about Shane and Lori. _Oh no, this won't be good_

* * *

 **Fun Fact: I was watching the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show while writing most of this, it's my guilty pleasure show I watch it every year. (Don't judge me!)**


	6. Update 1-25-2016

Hey everyone! Sorry that it's been so long since I updated, but my precious laptop is getting repaired (hopefully) at Mac right now! I accidentally spilled water on it :( Anyways, don't fret, as soon as I get it back I'll fast pace my writing to get something out to you!

-DragonLady


	7. Update 2-29-2016

I'm so devastated right now! My laptop is completely broken and I don't know when I'll be able to get a new one :,(. I'm sorry to any readers enjoying the story so far, I want y'all to know that once I do recieve a new laptop I will get to work on chapters again, maybe even changing a few things in what's posted already. Even though I'm unable to continue at this moment I want to encourage any comments or suggestions anyone would like to present as I'll have plenty of time to mule it over while I'm looking at getting a new writing device ;)

-DragonLady


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